Cleaning systems of the field are known and disclosed, e.g., in EP2048455. Solar panels are frequently installed on roofs of buildings and other structures and in other public places. Access to these locations frequently demands special climbing/elevation equipment and generally involves working at heights and/or on sloped surfaces. As a result, access to these locations is relatively dangerous, difficult and usually costly.
To effectively transform sunlight into electricity and/or thermal energy, solar panels need to be maintained in clean conditions. As a result, a solar panel system should be cleaned frequently, the frequency of cleaning depending, inter alia, on installation location, surrounding sources of dust/dirt, and climate.
In addition to the frequency of cleaning and the expense of access to the solar panel system, the overall cost and time to clean solar panels is mostly influenced by the overall size of the solar panel system, i.e., area to be cleaned.
As a result, the cost of cleaning a solar panel system may impact the overall economic worthwhileness of a solar panel systems.
Solar panel cleaning is sometimes performed manually, using devices (such as brushes, cranes, elevators, etc.) and treated water which is typically softened and filtered for the cleaning purpose.
Optimally, cleaning of solar panels should be performed when the panels are cool and/or not in sunlight—to avoid thermal shocks to the panels and not to lose solar energy. Furthermore, in the case of PV (Photo Voltaic) solar panels, washing them in the sunlight could pose an electrical shock risk. Cleaning the panels at nighttime, therefore, is a viable option. However, nighttime manual work is both more expensive and dangerous than day time work.
Therefore, there is a need for an automated solar panel cleaning system that can solve the problems identified hereinabove and can be integrated into existing and new solar panel installations in an easily applied and cost-effective fashion.